Blog

Run, Selfie, Repeat is a running blog by Kelly Roberts. From how to start running to funny running memes, Run, Selfie, Repeat is your go to for half marathon training, the best running gear, running for beginners, running for weight loss, running tips, and running motivation.

It’s Friday which means its “From Justin to Kelly.” It’s been a few weeks since Justin made a change in his life and started eating healthier and exercising regularly. Every Friday Justin guest blogs about his weight loss journey, how it’s going, what is and isn’t working, how he feels, and what he’s excited about. So without any further ado, I give you Justin Ayer.

"Long time no see! It’s been 2 weeks since we last met and boy do I have some catching up to do. Fourth of July weekend was definitely a doozy. Going into it, I was anticipating that I was going to “cheat” on my diet. Why the quotation marks? Because “cheating on your diet” has a negative connotation that I don’t support. You hear: “Oh you have to have that cheat day.” Or, “This counts as your cheat day,” and “It’s okay to cheat every now and then.” Why is it cheating? When it boils down to it food is food. What I don’t like is being on the receiving end of a judgey face when I tell someone, or someone sees me, straying from my black and white healthy diet. Why do we use that word so much when dieting or making a lifestyle change? We should celebrate the accomplishments we’ve made and not focus so much on the negatives of eating something that isn’t a strict protein or vegetable.

4th of July weekend I drank beer, ate American food, and did so unapologetically. Yes, it was different than anything I ate for the past month but so what? I enjoyed myself! It’s not eating unhealthily every now and then while trying to live a healthy lifestyle that’s bad. It’s letting it become a habit that is dangerous. Yes, I ate some greasy food this weekend but you know what, it didn’t make me feel better than if I ate healthy food. It made me feel a little run down. My body wasn’t use to it but do I regret it? Nope! I celebrated that I could eat like that for a weekend! It’s an accomplishment! Did I still exercise when Monday came? YES. Was I was back at eating healthily? YES. (By the way, hot power yoga after a weekend of drinking/eating will definitely help you remember why you don’t eat like that regularly anymore. I had to lie down at one point because it was too much. I still don’t regret it though.) I admit I was hesitant and nervous about weighing myself this week because of this past weekend. I almost didn’t do it. I didn’t want to know if I gained weight. But I weighed myself anyways.

And I lost another 3 pounds. WHAT?! I was so shocked! I ate poorly yet still lost weight! I’ve lost 28 pounds since I made the change. Some people tell me to just round it up to 30 but honestly, I am working hard to lose each individual pound so I am proud of EXACTLY how much I’m losing without fudging numbers.

I also learned another tough lesson this week. At the end of the day, you are the only one you have to depend on. You are the only one who is responsible for your health. Yes, it’s great to have someone encouraging you and helping you make healthy decisions but at the end of the day it’s no ones responsibly but yours to believe and keep yourself going. You can’t rely on someone else to do the cheering for you, you have to be your #1 fan and advocate. What happens if your support system cracks? Will you have the will power and the strength to continue when something you leaned on for support and guidance can’t be there 100% of the time? Support is imperative and sometimes it’s the encouragement of those around you that get you started and keep you going but at the end of the day I did the work. I’m the one saying no to the wedding cake I am constantly surrounded by! (I work for The Knot, a wedding publication and website. There’s always sugar in the office.)I’m the one buying and preparing my food, portioned it out, and then getting myself to the yoga studio to exercise. It’s wonderful and helpful to have someone push you harder and further but you have to remember that you can do that for yourself as well. I realized I had it in me this whole time. I can do it. I can still reach my goals and guess what, I am going to reach my goals and that is exciting for me. It's been a little over a month and look how far I've come! There is still support out there for me. I’m finding it more and more every day. For example through this blog, it’s readers (shout out to Kelly’s family, she said ya’ll were real supportive of my changes and it made my week!), and my co-workers who notice the change and give me encouragement and compliments. I once read that giving compliments to someone sets off the same signals in the brain as if you gave someone money and after this week and all the compliments I received, I feel like a million dollars (I mean if anyone wants to give me a million dollars that would be great too, just saying). I also find that supporting others has helped me believe in myself. With the changes I’ve become happier and I’ve helped inspire other’s which in turn makes me want to keep going and work harder! It’s a great feeling. I feel so grateful to have people constantly tell me they believe in me. Thank you.

I will leave you all with this. Life is so short. We hear that so much (especially on this blog, Kelly is repeating it every other sentence.) I know but really think about it. You are not infinite. Your time is not infinite. So why the hell are you wasting so much time?! Today forgive that person that has done something to you, tell someone you love them, smile at that coworker who gets on your last nerve or can’t remember your name, get up and go on a walk and take everything in. Don’t let the little things stop you. Don’t let the big things stop you. Smile. You are alive today so try to make yourself better. You can always start over. You can always pick up where you left off. Time isn’t as linear as we think. Make your own rules and play your own game. Having life is good but it’s nothing unless you are out there living. So get out there and live! See you next Friday.

-Justin"

I do say life’s too short all the time. I think it’s to easy to forget though. Being aware of your mortality changes you. It's easy to get stuck in a routine and take everything for granted because time is going to pass whether you do something with it or not. It’s impossible to be extraordinary every second of every day, but daily isn’t asking too much. Last night I was sitting with two of the most incredible, driven, and intelligent people I know co-founders of XO Group Inc. (The Knot, The Bump and The Nest) Carley and David and we were talking about being polite. You owe to no one to be polite in the workplace and in life. Stop it. You are hurting yourself and your work by not stepping on people’s toes. Who are you not to challenge people? Who are you not to bring your ideas, grand or small, into a room? Who are you to not ask questions? Dare to challenge, collaborate, and innovate. Invest in yourself. Learn how to stand in front of a room and engage them. Be excited about what you are telling them!

Alright kiddos I'm currently in a vehicle en route to the mountains with three dudes listening to Hootie and the Blowfish. Beyonce got shut down. It's going to be a crazy weekend, stay tuned. Until tomorrow, #RunSelfieRepeat.

It all started when a silly joke made headlines back in 2014 when I took selfies with hot guys “hottie hunting” my way through the New York City Half Marathon. But ironically enough, I haven't always been a runner. As the self-proclaimed former President of the "I f*cking hate running club", I spent most of my life finding ways to avoid physical activity. Growing up, I missed over 70 days of PE my senior year. Working out was something I thought I had to suffer through in order to lose weight.

Then, in 2009, my younger brother passed away unexpectedly and struggling to manage my grief, I gained more than 75 pounds. With the weight gain came a new fight to regain my sense of self and learn to love the body I saw when I looked in the mirror. Then one Thanksgiving morning, drowning in grief and self doubt, I decided to go for a run. I didn't make it half way down my street before I had to stop to walk but for some reason, struggling forward made more sense than getting back into bed. It turns out that running is a lot like grief, neither ever really get easier, you just get stronger.

Over time, I realized that while some people are in fact born runners, others are made. I created this blog Run, Selfie, Repeat and my new podcast by the same name with the hopes to inspire others to say yes to themselves while making them laugh hysterically because laughing, in my opinion, is the solution to everything.

Named by Women's Running as one of twenty women who are changing the sport of running and by Competitor Magazine as one of 12 Influential and inspiring runners under 30, my mission is to inspire others to get embrace a healthy lifestyle and pursue the strongest version of themselves possible.

Run, Selfie, Repeat

My name is Kelly Roberts, and I'm the former president of the "I F*cking Hate Running Club." No—but really. While struggling to grieve the loss of my brother and maintain a healthy body weight (after losing more than 75 pounds), I thought, "What better way to run from my problems than to actually run from my problems?" Since those painful first runs, I've conquered everything from marathons to 5Ks and haven't looked back.

Run, Selfie, Repeat is bursting with humor, inspiration and personal stories that lend a humorous and entertaining look into the world of running that lead you to believe that just about anyone, regardless of their fitness level, can and should fall in love with running.